


Her Father's Daughter

by ayeka3b



Category: A Discovery of Witches (TV), All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2019-09-12 15:25:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16875366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayeka3b/pseuds/ayeka3b
Summary: This is a story about Rebecca as a teenager. How exactly does Matthew handle that?It will be multichapter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Discovery of Witches or the characters.
> 
> I decided I wanted to see a story about Rebecca when she got a bit older and how she copes with having the father she does.

“You want to hide something from me,” he accused.

“Not hide, exactly,” Matthew’s pupils began to dilate and Diana knew she was in dangerous territory.

“I can smell your desire,” Matthew stalked toward her across the bedroom floor, “so don’t tell me your not in the mood.”

Diana silently cursed to herself, it was hard to claim a headache when your husband was so completely attuned to your body’s changes. Diana thought she was safe for the afternoon and that the earliest Matthew would bite her heart’s vein would be this evening, but he had come home in that suit, with his hair tousled and she responded, and he knew she responded…

Diana sighed, “It has nothing to do with you and me.”

Matthew relaxed a bit, “Then what is it?”

Diana sighed, “Rebecca asked me to keep a secret for her and I’m trying.”

“What sort of secret,” Matthew demanded, instantly suspicious.

“Would you back off if I told you that you didn’t need to know as it puts her in no danger?”

Matthew considered this, “Perhaps, but why does she want to keep a secret from me?” he seemed genuinely perplexed, “She’s always been so open,” he looked hurt. Matthew had always had a close relationship with his daughter. Though she was a powerful witch in her own right, Rebecca’s vampire tendencies had bust forth throughout the years, causing her father to help guide her through them and a close father/daughter bond to emerge. However, Diana knew that the teenage phase was going to throw family dynamics in flux.

Diana looked at her husband, she didn’t want to give up Rebecca’s secret, but neither did she want her husband to feel excluded.

“If I tell you, will you promise not to act rashly?” she asked.

“Why? What could you tell me that would make me do that?”

“There a number of things,” Diana swept through several in her mind in an instant, “but this isn’t something that you should act rashly about.” She was making this worse, maybe if there wasn’t the build up and she just treated it as something normal it would be fine, “Rebecca has a date.”

“What?!” Matthew yelled. Nope, there was no way to make this normal.

“It’s a group...thing,” she said using the same terminology her daughter had.

“A group thing?” Matthew stared at her as if it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

“Yes,they’re all going to a movie and then dinner and she will be home by 11.”

Matthew stared into the distance silently, “She won’t be going.”

“What?” It was Diana’s turn to yell, “of course she will, I already told her she could.”

“That was not your permission to give, as sieur of this scion, I make the decisions,” he said, turning away trying to end the conversation.

“I didn’t think the sieur bothered about such small things,” Diana barked back, “nor is it your right.”

“All things fall under my purview, Diana,” he said, looking over his shoulder, “and it is completely within my right.”

“Listen to yourself Matthew, you are forbidding our daughter from going out based solely on the fact that you had sired a family of vampires.”

“Her safety is my responsibility,” he said.

“Safety,” Diana snorted, “she could break any boy’s neck with a twist of her fingers and you know it. If this were Marcus or Jack, what would you be saying then?”

“I’d tell Marcus to go home to Phoebe,” Matthew retorted.

“You know what I meant,” Diana countered, “what if Jack were going out.”

“Jack is 400 years old and…it’s different,” Matthew ended weakly.

“How?”

“Well, for one thing…”

“He’s a boy,” Diana looked at him, “you really are a 16th century gentleman.”

Matthew looked pained, “What if one of the boys…tries something? She’s my little girl,” he sank heavily onto the bed, staring at Diana as if she had the answers.

Diana saw the pain in his eyes and sat beside him, drawing him close, “You have raised her to be smart and strong, she can handle herself,” Diana sat next to him, pulling him close. 

She also refrained from adding that Rebecca might not entirely be against trying something.

“What if she gets pregnant?”

“How did we go from boys trying something to her getting pregnant?” Diana asked, incredulously.

“Well, she doesn’t know the mechanics, she may not understand what’s happening to her...Diana?” 

She was looking away from him, trying to figure out what to say.

“Diana?” a look of horror dawned on his face, “oh, god, no. She couldn’t possibly…but how?”

“They teach it in school these days,” Diana started slowly, 

“Teach it in school?”

“Yes, health class, but you are reading all those medical journals with her. She was bound to pick something up.””

“Nothing I’ve given her has had anything to do with such matters,” he protested, “besides I gave her those because her insufferable biology teacher wasn’t challenging her.”

Diana ignored the last part of that statement, she wasn’t reopening that lengthy debate once again. “They may not have said anything, but she’s a teenager and it was enough to make her curious.”

“What do you mean?” he asked as Diana looked away, “Diana,” he pulled her face toward him, “what do you know?”

“Miriam may have spoken with her.”

“Miriam?!,” Matthew howled, “Miriam, how dare she!”

“She didn’t do anything wrong, Rebecca wanted some answers from her godmother.”

“But...”Matthew sputtered.

“Miriam is an adult vampire woman with experience with human men. Rebecca is a curious teenager who is trying to figure out her hormones. She knows that you will gain memories from my blood and Miriam doesn’t report directly to you. Even if she did, she would never betray this.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this. She’s a child.”

“She’s growing up, but she’s smart and she won’t rush into anything like that. This is just a group thing, not even a date.”  
Matthew got up to pace, “The nerve of a boy, not even asking her out properly. I will have something to say to him when he gets here.”

“Ummm”

“What,” Matthew stopped abruptly and turned toward her.

“About that, there all meeting there.”

“Do you mean my daughter is not properly being paid court?”

“Properly paid court?” Diana snickered, “this isn’t the 17th century, that’s not how it works anymore. Besides, she’s not going to marry one of these boys, they are just going out, and you can’t do anything!”

“But-”

“Nothing,” Diana walked toward him and placed a hand on his chest, “she doesn’t want you to know.”

“Why?” Matthew looked confused, angry and hurt all at once.

“It’s not to hurt you,” Diana assured him.

“Then why?”

“Because she’s embarrassed.”

“Of me?’

“No, not exactly.” Matthew stared at her. “Ok. She’s embarrassed by the fact that you may rip a boy in half, but I think she’s more embarrassed that you won’t approve and she’s worried that you will be upset with her.”

“Why would she think that?”

“She’s a teenage girl,” Diana shrugged, "they don't make sense."

“Hmm,” Matthew thought for a moment, “Are they all like this, were you like this?”

“Oh yeah, I would sneak out and create elaborate lies so Sarah and Em wouldn’t know who I was meeting.”

“Diana Bishop,” Matthew grinned, “you were a rebel.”

“One guy even tried to climb in through the window, but that didn’t end well.”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, he broke an arm and the house went nuts, but,” she smiled as she put her arms around him, “you know, you’ve climbed in through the window many times and nothing bad has ever happened.”.

“That’s true,” he mused. She was trying to distract him. 

She ran her lips along his neck and jaw.

It was working.

“Just let her be, ok?” Diana said, “she’ll tell you in her own time.”

He closed his eyes, drawing in his wife’s scent “all right, I won’t let her know that I am aware of this…group thing,” he grimaced.

“And you won’t interfere with her night?”

“No, I won’t”

“Promise,” she pressed.

“Yes, I promise,” he opened his eyes and looked down at the amazing creature who had agreed to be his. “Our daughter is lucky to have a mother like you,” she smiled at the compliment, “but, let me ask, what was this weak-boned boy going to do once he reached your window,” Matthew queried as his hands began to roam over her body.

“Oh, something far less entertaining than what you do without climbing through a window,” Diana melded her body to him.

He continued his ministrations, focusing all his attention on his wife, but, when they lay in bed, content with one another he began coming up with a plan that would meet the spirit, if not the letter of his promise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your kind words, kudos and patience. I had no idea how intensive it is to try to write!  
> I have written a large part of the end of this story, but the middle is proving more difficult. I hope you continue to read!

“I thought you said you’d promised,” Marcus looked at his father skeptically.

“I promised I wouldn’t let her know that I was aware or interfere with her night, Matthew paused, “What I did not promise was that I wouldn’t shadow her to keep her safe, or that you would interfere if necessary for that matter,” Matthew glanced at his son.

Marcus was skeptical of the whole plan. His father had called him, asking him over right around the time that Diana had arrived at his and Phoebe’s flat to discuss some of the de Clermont “treasures” (he never did understand Degas’ appeal). 

Marcus welcomed an excuse to get out of all that history discussion and headed over eagerly, thinking there would be hunting and maybe some chess with Matthew and Rebecca (Phillip was visiting Ysabeau in France). He arrived to a nearly frantic Matthew who immediately took him to Rebecca’s room and inventoried a list of items that were missing (high heels, hair curler, hair ties with an odd name, scoonci?). 

Marcus had immediately pulled his phone to call Phoebe and start a search, assuming that Rebecca had been forcibly removed with an odd set of items when his father informed him that she had gone off to get ready for a group thing at one of her friends’ houses.   
It had been down-hill ever since.

“I don’t know. It seems fairly devious,” Marcus opined.

“Do you want your sister attacked and kidnapped?” Matthew snapped.

“Of course not,” Marcus said, “but I don’t think there’s a huge risk of that. They’re teenage boys, she could break them in half if she needed to, but…”he trailed off.

“But what?” Matthew cut in.

“But I doubt their intentions are to either attack or kidnap her. I think it’s probably just to get to know her or, you know...”Marcus trailed off again, realizing he entered territory that he didn’t want to remind his father of.

“No, I don’t” Matthew eyed him coldly.

“Teenagers, you know, they just,” Marcus shrugged. God, this was excruciating. Why didn’t he just stay home? Degas wasn’t terrible.

“Just what?” Matthew demanded.

“Look, things have changed a lot since you were her age,” Marcus tried to keep his voice even as his father seemed about to have a complete melt down.

Matthew looked Marcus straight in the eye, “Boys haven’t changed.”

He was right about that, but still…

Marcus decided to redirect, “Boys may not have changed, but Rebecca is no ordinary teenager. Besides, you know Diana will find out and be upset you didn’t fulfill your promise.”

“I will either technically fulfill my promise,” Matthew began and Marcuse snorted, “or I will have prevented our daughter from a a terrible fate so if Diana finds out-“

“When,” Marcus cut in.

“If,” Matthew continued, “she will have nothing to be upset about.”

“Do you really think she will follow that line of thought?”

“Of course, I will explain it to her logically and rationally.”

Marcus started at Matthew, trying to form the words to explain to him just how wrong he was.

Matthew sensed his skepticism, “All right, maybe she will be mad, but our daughter will be safe,” he practically shouted, “and I need you to help me ensure that Rebecca doesn’t know of my presence and get mad at me as well.” His father’s voice had taken on a quality that it rarely held, pleading.

Marcus sighed, weighing the pros and (decidedly more) cons of this situation. He didn’t think this was a good idea, but knew that his father would press on regardless. There was no way out of this, only through, hopefully with minimal damage, “what’s your plan?”

“It’s perfect and will ensure that I meet the letter of the agreement with Diana.”

“What exactly was your agreement?”

“I promised I wouldn’t interfere or let Rebecca knew that I knew what was going on, and that’s exactly what I am going to do.”

“So why are we here at all then?” Marcus queried, genuinely puzzled as to how the evening was to proceed..

“You are going to check in on her.”

“Ummmmmm,” the realization of his father’s carefully formed promise to Diana washed over him. Marcus had not made any such promise and was free to do what he like.

But, while Marcus loved his sister and certainly didn’t want harm to come to her, he had a feeling that she may have wanted other, different trouble, that would be rather hampered by the appearance of an older brother. 

Not to mention that she would never forgive Marcus, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It’s perfect,” Matthew was full of confidence, “you can check in an intervene if necessary and I will stay close by in case you need reinforcements”

“Reinforcements? Against a handful of teenage boys?” his father was being ridiculous, “besides, she’ll smell me or spot me if I get anywhere near her.”

“Her senses aren’t as fully realized as yours are.”

“Because she has magic to compensate.”

Matthew continued as if he hadn’t heard this, “and you have years of fighting to know how to mask your approach.”

“It’s a movie theater and restaurant in central London. There’s nowhere to mask.”

“I’m sure you can manage,” his father said drolly, “besides if she does spot you, you can say it’s just a coincidence.”

“She will see through that lie in a second. Uh un, I’m not doing this.”

“She needs protecting,” Marcus saw his father’s eyes turn black. He was in dangerous territory.

Marcus held up his hands, knowing he had to find a way out this that made his father happy and his sister continue to speak with him. Thinking quickly, he asked, “How about this,” the wheels turned, desperate to come up with something that would maintain his relationship with both his father and sister, “we wait well back from the theater and watch them enter and exit. We can keep watch and know she’s safe.”

Matthew emitted a low growl.

“Then,” Marcus continued,” we trail them to the restaurant and take a quick look. We’ll want to be out of there before she is headed home so we don’t cross paths.”

Matthew considered this.

“This is really the best way to make sure she doesn’t see you. She can recognize your scent better than any other vampire and her magic is steady if not as strong as Phillip’s.”

Marcus saw Matthew think about this, weighing the distance and possible exposure against his own strong feelings. 

Marcus also suspected that Matthew was a bit confused by the whole situation. He had only ever fathered full-grown teenagers previously with very different needs.  
Marcus added, “and even with the distance, our speed makes us able to get to her quickly so its not like we need to be particularly close if needed,” Marcus saw his father wavering and pressed his advantage, “besides, Rebecca should feel like she can handle such situations on her own so she builds her confidence.”

Marcus was genuinely surprised when Matthew said, “All right, but a hint of trouble and I will get closer even if Rebecca may see me.”

“There won’t be any trouble and with her being distracted a short distance shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Distracted?!”

Marcus realized his mistake, “I just mean…she’ll be focused on…other things and she won’t.” he trailed off.

Matthew darted off with another word.

Marcus sighed and prayed his sister would forgive him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for sticking with me. There are more chapters to come!

Matthew watched the clock, an activity that was not in his habit for centuries. Yet, when he met Diana, he seemed to do it all the time.

He and Marcus had trailed Rebecca and her friends as they drove to the theater and then sat atop the roof(Marcus had compared them to bats in an attempt at levity that fell flat). They had listened intently for anything amiss but all he heard were the normal sounds of a movie theater-or what he assumed were normal sounds, he had not personally been to one in years.

He was particularly attuned to one sound-his daughter’s heart. He had been able to pick it out before she was even born, and, along with her mother and brother’s, it directed his world, shaped what he did. 

It seemed…off. Like she was excited or nervous.

He didn’t like it. Not one bit.

Marcus and Matthew had then kept quite a distance as the group moved on to a restaurant.

His daughter seemed particularly preoccupied by a pimple faced young man that made Matthew snap a wrought-iron fence post.

This was apparently a bad idea as his daughter seemed to register the noise and subtly started sniffing the air.

Marcus pulled him back and convinced him that they needed a larger gap, but that seemed to cause Matthew even more problems. Thank God Rebecca didn’t have full vampire senses or they would have been toast.

They trailed the group to the restaurant. Matthew paced incessantly as Marcus continued a litany of reasons why Matthew should go home, none of them convincing.

Matthew continued to push closer and closer until Marcus could see Rebecca testing the air at furtive intervals. At one point she got up to “use the restroom” but Marcus could tell she was trying to get a bead on the scent. 

Marcus felt pride in that as he had been teaching Rebecca hunting and tracking techniques over time, but she was still young. 

Marcus pointed out what Rebecca was doing to his father and urged him to pull back. Matthew was reluctant but they backed off a bit (half a mile or so) when Marcus’ phone buzzed. 

It was Rebecca.

“Oh Crap,” Marcus said, “she must know.” 

His father registered the caller and said, “that’s impossible.”

“No, she was smelling the air like I taught her, she caught our scents.” 

“Don’t answer,” Matthew practically shouted, “but if you don’t she might think something was up, you have to answer, but…” 

Marcus saw his father racked with indecision and decided to continue with his push forward strategy and answered it, “Hi lil sis, what’s up?”

“Sorry to bug you,” Rebecca began, “but it’s something weird.”

“Really, what kind of weird?” Marcus queried, and, because he didn’t want her to seem suspicious added, “where are you? I can be anywhere in London within 10 minutes.” Technically less, in this case, Marcus thought, but she didn’t need to know that.

Rebecca would think it odd if such a statement on her part was not met by swift action. The Clairmont-Bishops had weathered a large burden in the short years of the family, and any hint of danger was taken seriously and met swiftly.

“No, no,” Rebecca quickly said, no doubt not wanting him to know her whereabouts, “it’s just I’m out with some,” she stopped short, “friends, and I’m catching your scent pretty strongly,” she paused, “you aren’t following me on anyone’s order by chance?”

Matthew looked at Marcus square in the eye and furiously shook his head. The message was clear.

Marcus sat in a bit of quandary, he certainly didn’t want to lie to his sister, but he also didn’t want to cause a rift between her and his father.

He took the misdirection route.

“Who would have told me to follow you?” he said in the most innocent voice he could muster, “and why? Are you up to something?” He felt bad turning things around on her like that, but the best defense was a good offense or some such thing.

“NO,” Rebecca practically screamed, “I mean, no, I’m not up to something,” she tried to modulate her voice, “I’m just catching your scent quite strongly.”

“Where are you?” Marcus asked.

“I’m at a pizza place by St. Pauls, why?”

Marcus noticed that his sister was rather non-specific in the location, but he was pushing his luck as is.

“Well that explains it,” he said. “I was at St. Bart’s today for a consult.” This was a small lie, but he did go there quite often, “I walked right through the area, where exactly are you?” Marcus pressed, hoping this was cause her to back off a bit.

He felt a bit bad when it did.

“Oh, just a pizza place. I guess you walked past it or something, the smell feels so fresh.” 

Just then Marcus heard a distinctly male voice in the background saying, “hey, Rebecca, we’re close to curfew.”

Despite the phone being to Marcus’ ear, Matthew heard too, and, from the look on his face, was none to happy.

“Oh, Jessica is calling me,” Rebecca hastily said in a terrible lie(you’d think Ysabeau would have worked on that with her), “bye,” she quickly hung up.

“Who was that?!” Matthew demanded.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Marcus tried.

“Wouldn’t worry about it?” Matthew was incredulous.

“Look,” Marcus said, “we’ve pushed out luck pretty far and we’re lucky she smelled me and not you,” Matthew opened his mouth but Marcus cut him off before he could start, “besides, that kid talked about curfew which means they will be headed home. Do you want Rebecca to come home to an empty house?”

“Well, it would help throw off the scent, so to speak, should anyone suspect that I was out trailing her, then,” Matthew said.

“That’s true,” Marcus said, but feeling like he needed a way out,” but if a boy were to come home with her…”

Matthew was one of the fastest vampires who currently walked the earth. No one could hope to catch him, especially when he was at full speed, but Marcus certainly did his best, ensuring that his father was at home and not in the midst of blood rage before quietly blending into the night.

He just hoped Rebecca wouldn’t stay mad at him for too long.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters in one day. I had written this one before the previous one and was working hard to connect the two. I hope it makes up for the long lack of progress.

Rebecca flew up the stairs, without a word and slammed the door to her room with a loud thud.

Matthew was second behind with an errant thought to the Monet in the hallway.

He practically flew home when Marcus suggested that a boy might be attending his daughter home, and thought errantly that he should purchase a shotgun for just such an event. Yes, it was superfluous, given who and what he was, but he thought it would add to the menace.  
Marcus had calmed him down and told him that the best way to behave was to wait, quietly and unobtrusively in the family room, reading a book. That way, Rebecca wouldn’t suspect a thing.

Matthew lasted about 30 seconds, before he started pacing and began timing her entrance. He was at 23 minutes, thinking how stupid a man he was to leave his daughter alone for 23 minutes when she had entered in obvious distress and took off for her room at full speed.

“Rebecca,” he knocked at her door.

“Leave me alone,” his daughter cried out with obvious distress.

“What’s the matter?” Matthew pressed.

“I said leave me alone,” Rebecca screamed through the door, “can’t I have any privacy in this house?”

“When you act like that, no,” Matthew answered back, wondering if he should open the door. Rebecca had locked it, but that was more a formality in the Bishop-Clairmont house.

“I just,” Rebecca’s voice broke, “Just….is mom home?”

Matthew paused, his anger receding. His daughter wasn’t defiant, she was upset.

“Mom, is she home?” Rebecca was obviously trying to hold her composure but cracks were leaking though.

Matthew’s heart broke a little, but he softened his voice, “no, but I’m here.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Matthew could hear her tears, “I have been around for quite awhile, so I understand a fair amount.”

“Not this,” his daughter choked out,” just tell mom that I need to see her when she gets home.”

Matthew considered his options. He could force his way into her room and demand she speak to him. His limited understanding of teenage girls led him to believe that was not a good idea.

He could call Diana and have her come home immediately, but he wanted to solve this himself so he tried something else.

He got down on the floor next to his daughter’s door and simply sat.

He heard his daughter taking deep breaths, calming herself before hearing her sniff the air and sense his closeness.

A moment went by before he heard her query, “what are you doing?”

“I’m waiting for your mother to come home.”

“Why are you waiting there?”

“It’s as good a place as any.”

“But why outside my room?.”

“I find it to be a rather comforting spot.”

There was silence for a moment before his daughter continued.  
“What do you mean?”

“I used to do this when you and Phillip were little.”

“Little?”

“Yes, when you were babies.”

“Why?”

Matthew heard his daughter sit down on the other side of the door, no longer holding in sobs.

“I could hear if you, your brother, or mother woke up and I was close to all of you, and, as you were up more than your mother and brother, it made it convenient.   
Besides,“ Matthew added, “your mother banned me from staying in your nursery.”

“Why would she do that?” Rebecca sounded puzzled, sniffling but no longer holding back sobs.

“Because I would keep you both awake, you especially. You didn’t need as much sleep and was so curious even then. I would talk and play with you or even just read you drafts of my papers or point out constellations. You began nodding off at odd times during the day and she figured out you were staying up to spend time with me so she told me I couldn’t go into the room unless one of your cried so I sat outside on the threshold,” Matthew chuckled, “though I don’t think she ever realized that.”

“Really?” Rebecca knew that there were very few secrets in the household that could be kept from vampires and witches.

“Yes,” Matthew said, “though it is rather hard to keep anything from her, but I always thought of it as a secret I had with you and Phillip.”

There was silence for a bit and Matthew contemplated trying to fill it when his daughter asked, “what was she like?”

“Who?”

“Mom, when you met her, when” Rebecca paused, “when you figured out you liked her.”

Matthew ignored the sense of dread in his gut that told him this was connected to her unhappiness as he noted that she seemed to have calmed a bit.

“I didn’t like her, not when I first met her.”

“Really?” his daughter sounded shocked.

“No, she had something I wanted and I was annoyed that she had gotten to it first.”

“The Book of Life.”

“Yes,” his daughter knew parts of this story but not the whole of it.

Matthew began to fill it in.

“But then I was annoyed for a different reason.”

“What’s that?”

Matthew began to think back to those first days after he met Diana, how he was unable to make sense of his feelings or understand just what was occurring.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was falling in love with her.”

Rebecca was quiet for a moment, “I always wondered how it happened so fast. You were married so quickly and the way you and mom are…”she trailed off

“How are we?” Matthew was amused.

“So,” Rebecca seemed to search for the right word, “logical.”

Matthew chuckled, “yes, that was partially why I was so annoyed. I had always been logical, always thought things through and then, there I was, finding excuses to spend time with a warm-blood, following her, stalking her really. It was embarrassing.”

“Aunt Miriam says you were insufferable.”

Matthew snorted, “To her, probably, but,” he paused, trying to find the right words, “to me it was much different. I was lost, confused by what was happening and your mother…”Matthew trailed off thinking about that time, 17 years ago.

“Confused, by mom?” Rebecca spoke with the confusion that only a teenager can muster over her parents having lives prior to them.

“Yes. As I said, I didn’t realize it at first. I was looking for the book and she could get it so I had to stay with her as I would anything that would lead me to my goal, but then,” Matthew thought about those early days, “I was fighting myself not to spend time with her at the same time finding excuses, picking her up every day, spending time in the library, keeping others from her, becoming more and more protective, and then I just panicked and ran.”

“Ran?”

Ah, yes, Rebecca had not heard that part. He had never been sure how much to reveal to his children, but his talking seemed to have calmed her a bit so he pressed on.

“Yes, I ran to Hamish’s house trying to get away. I told myself that I was going back and would keep a scholarly distance, get the book and disappear, but I was lying to myself. Hamish saw it even if I couldn’t”

“Uncle Hamish saw you liked mom?”

“Uncle Hamish saw I loved your mother,” Matthew smiled. “He saw that I couldn’t turn myself away from her, and, what’s more, he told me not to, told me to go to her even if…” Matthew trailed off, realizing he was in an area he did not mean to reveal to his daughter.

“Even if what?” Rebecca’s voice was now devoid of the earlier distress and she had moved directly up against the door as if to get closer to him. He did not want a relapse.

“Even if I was hunting her.”

Matthew heard the sharp intake of breath his daughter had and hoped he could make her understand. Her vampire tendencies should help with it, he hoped.

“The mating instinct is complicated and difficult to describe to those who have not been through it, that was why I had so much trouble recognizing and accepting it at the time. Though, even if I had recognized it, a warm blood, and a witch, no less, was never going to be the person I thought I would mate with.”

“Because of the covenant?”

“Yes, but there was more.”

“What?”

“The de Clermomts are an old and distinguished line that have been at odds with witches for centuries. Further, witches were fragile, temperamental creatures, unclear on mastery of their power, able to take down millennials old vampires. They were not to be mingled with at, let alone mated with. And I thought I just wanted to taste witch blood, given how it sang to me,” Matthew thought back to that terrible time in Scotland when Hamish pointed him the direction that would lead him to bring down 2 millennia of tradition. 

“But that wasn’t what it was,” Matthew continued, “Not exactly. I was hunting her, but it was for a different purpose. It was to make her mine, become one.”

He could practically hear Rebecca thinking on the other side of the door, “did you still want her blood?”

He was worried that she would ask this, but he would not lie to is daughter, not now, not ever, “yes, I did, I do, but not to feed,” he added, “to know her thoughts, to be close to her, to understand her.”

“So you didn’t think you would ever mate with a witch.”

“I didn’t think I would mate with anyone.”

“But then you met mom.”

“But then I met mom,” Matthew smiled, “and she was temperamental, though not at all fragile and she seemed as drawn to me as I was to her and I just couldn’t let her go.”

“But you said you ran away again?” Rebecca sounded confused.

“I did, but it didn’t take very well.”

Rebecca chuckled. That was good progress.

“A congregation member came to Sept Tours and told your mother about the covenant, she hadn’t know about it and I had kept from her, still foolishly thinking I could walk away. I thought it would be best for me to go to Oxford and part ways, but it was doomed from the start.”

“Why doomed?”

“I sabotaged it. Had I actually wanted to give your mother up I would have sent her back to Grandma Sarah and left for a long research trip in the middle of nowhere, just let her live her life, but I didn’t. I told her to stay at Sept-Tours.”

“Why?”

“I wanted her in a place where I could get to her quickly. I wasn’t consciously thinking that, but I might as well have,” Matthew remembered that his reasoning at the time seemed so sound. Diana was in danger and the witches wouldn’t protect her so he was actually helping the congregation by taking care of a witch. Her aunts were obviously not strong enough to her safe was what he had told himself.

“I spent two days in Oxford and then turned and came back. That was when Miriam was probably thinking I was insufferable. I couldn’t not think about your mother, couldn’t not go to her rooms, visit the places she frequented, hoping to catch her scent,” Matthew signed, “I was in something so much more than love it was terrifying but I knew I couldn’t let go or I would never feel a moment of happiness ever again. Knowing that if she lived in the world with anyone but me I would go mad and fall into despair that I would never come out of,” Matthew paused, “I loved her with every bit of my soul and I would always be a shadow of myself if she was not beside me.”

His daughter was silent. He was not prone to such speeches.

“That was the most wonderful I’ve heard someone say about someone else outside of a movie or a play.”

His daughter’s comments made him smile, when he heard a hesitating question.

“Do you think…I mean would I…”

His daughter was not usually hesitant, she was decisive and eloquent, just like her mother, and(he flatter himself) father.

“Yes sweetheart?” he tried to help push her along.

“Forget it, it’s stupid, ”Matthew heard her getting up and pulling away and had to push down the panic at what she didn’t want to say. Was she angry with him for the way he craved her mother’s blood or the fact that he ran away, twice? He was angry with himself for these things so why not his daughter.

“As nothing you have ever said is stupid, I find that hard to believe.”

This seemed to soothe her and she said in a small voice, “Do you think anyone will every feel that way about me?”

For the first time in two millennia, Matthew's vision went bury.


End file.
